Southern California districts facing water surplus

Last winter's heavy snowfall means there's lots of water in the pipeline for Southern California. Now the problem is storing it all until it's needed. Local water districts are having a hard time taking advantage of the surplus.

"We've experienced above-average rainfall and snowpack in the Sierra Nevada, which is our primary source of water. But also in the Colorado River," said Bob Muir, a spokesman for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.

The combination has restored water levels depleted by the state's drought.

The wholesale water supplier is now offering its 26 member agencies the surplus at its Diamond Valley Lake location at a discount. Only one problem: local groundwater storage space is already full.

"In the last five years or so we've worked really hard to develop local supplies, whether it's storm water capture or desalting or the use of recycled water," said Michele McKinney-Underwood, a spokeswoman for the Western Municipal Water District.